Lysozyme hydrolyzes the beta-glycosidic linkage between N-acetylmuramic acid and N-acetyl glucosamine in the peptidoglycan of bacterial cell walls and can also bind polymers of N-acetyl glucosamine. The enzyme is used for: cell wall degradation, preparation of protoplasts, bacteriolysis, sample preparation prior to isolation of nucleic acids. The enzyme concentration used for plasmid DNA isolation (E.coli) is 200 μg/300 μl. The enzyme concentration used for RNA isolation is 40 μg/ml. Lysozyme is inhibited by surfactants like SDS or alcohols, fatty acids, imidazole and indol-derivatives.